Insurance People July/August 2014

insurancepeople issue 45 July/August 2014

e suranc n I e h “T ith zine w a g a M ality�

Person

Reg Brown See Page 10 Insurance People inside include:

David Beardsworth Reg Brown Malcolm Forbes-Wilson Crescens George John Gibson David Grant David Holman Charley Taggart Terry Wellard

surance “The In with ne Magazi ity” Personal

in association with

insurancepeople

leader

www.insurancepeople.uk.com

Is regulation good or bad?

Editor and Publisher

Consultant Editor

Andrew Newman

Brian Susman

Commercial Director

Production Director

Jeni Hall

Adrian Susman

Editorial

Andrew Newman FCII, Dip.M andrewnewman@talk21.com 01892 730539 Design & Production

Adrian Susman adrian@insurancepeople.uk.com 07981 993974

July/August 2014

I

s regulation a good or bad thing? That’s a wide-ranging question, with no simple ‘yes or ‘no’ answer. However, this month’s edition provides food for thought on two of the main issues.

In this issue

Provable competence is one of today’s statutory demands, and staff training features on page 6. Brokers choosing to invest heavily here face a gentler slope on the playing field when their competitors confront the same regulatory challenge.

2

Late news

4

Market talk

10

Interview

But the costs in time, effort, and money are high, and expand when provable compliance is added to the equation. It’s said that more time can now be spent on compliance than in running the business.

And, as voiced in this month’s article on page 14, it’s those compliance costs that drive the insurer market towards lower service standards when experienced staff are culled, making life so frustrating for brokers and clients alike.

And, of course, it's the clients that compliance is all about in the first place.

Reg Brown talks about mentoring

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Ones that got away Author James Herbert was a Lloyd’s Name

12

Who said insurance is boring?

The memoirs of the late Malcolm Forbes-Wilson

Commercial Director

Jeni Hall jeni@insurancepeople.uk.com 07969 510172

14

www.insurancepeople.uk.com

Terry Wellard Who regulates the regulator?

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insurancepeople PO Box 537 Tonbridge Kent TN12 9WG t 01562 862990 m 07981 993974 e adrian@insurancepeople.uk.com

David Grant

5

John Gibson considers telematics for pets!

6

RPC’s Charley Taggart on broker conflicts of interest

17

Fraud David Beardsworth and skilled investigations

Also find us on:

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News

26

On the move

ISSN 2043-9202

Who’s going where?

Insurance People is published monthly by Buttermere Wedge Publishing Limited.

While every attempt has been made to ensure that the information contained within this publication is accurate, the publisher accepts no liability for information published in error, or for views expressed. All rights for Insurance People magazine are reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without prior permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited.

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14

Terry Wellard looks at insurer service… among other things

17

David Beardsworth offers tips on fraud leakage prevention

On the Road Wing …takes to the air

JULY/AUGUST 2014 insurancepeople 1

Late News

insurancepeople

in association with

Marsh closes cyber Faber Global appoints CEO F insurance gap M arsh has launched its Cyber Gap Insurance, developed in collaboration with leading insurers in the London and European markets and industrial control system security specialists.

Marsh says that exclusion clauses in standard commercial insurance policies stipulate that cover will not be provided for bodily injury, property damage and business interruption arising from a hacking event.

Marsh’s Cyber Gap Insurance closes this gap by indemnifying the insured in the event that indemnification under the normal property, business interruption or package policies is denied, solely due to the existence of any of

Andrew Herring

these cyber risk exclusions.

Andrew Herring, leader of Marsh’s Energy Practice in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, comments “To date, the cyber-attacks directed at the global energy sector have largely been untargeted and datadriven, as companies and individuals have attempted to gain access to personal or sensitive financial data.

“However, the nature of the threat is changing and energy firms are now the target of increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks. The disproportionate rate at which the sector is targeted means it may only be a matter of time before we experience catastrophic physical damage to facilities or disruption to supply as a result of a cyber-related event.

“Marsh’s Cyber Gap Insurance closes the gaps in existing coverage that have existed for over a decade, enabling energy firms to develop and implement more comprehensive risk mitigation and risk planning strategies to protect their people and assets.”

2 insurancepeople JULY/AUGUST 2014

aber Global, the facultative and wholesale reinsurance arm of Willis Group, has announced the appointment of Alistair Lester as CEO. He will report to Steve Hearn, chairman and CEO of Willis Global. The current Faber CEO, Jason Howard, will become CEO of the newly-formed Acappella Group Holdings Ltd. Both appointments take effect 1 July 2014.

Alistair Lester joined Willis in 2004, initially as head of the European M&A practice and subsequently International head of M&A. He then held positions as a

Alistair Lester

member of Willis’s FINEX global executive committee, CEO Willis Global Solutions and most recently as interim CEO of Willis Netherlands.

Carole Nash acts on agreed values

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arole Nash is advising holders of its classic car cover to check their agreed values are up to date following a surge in the worth of many vehicles.

“A trend that at first impacted high end vehicles like your E-types has had a knock effect to push up values across the market, often at great pace,” reports Peter McIlvenny, Carole Nash’s director of cherished cars. “The danger is that these rises are not reflected in agreed values if they are not regularly updated. Brokers and underwriters really need to be on the ball,” He adds, “We’re working with our customers and insurers to ensure as far as possible that cover fully reflects the true value

of a vehicle. This means not only ensuring our own agreed value process takes into account what are often rapid price fluctuations, but also encouraging policyholders to themselves regularly review their vehicle’s value. In some cases this may mean considering revaluing midterm.”

Peter McIlvenny

market talk

Andrew Newman

50+ @ Morton Michel

50 up for Morton Michel Like many broking firms that have thrived to reach their half-century, the Morton Michel story starts from relatively humble beginnings. It was the traditional broker start-up – one man and his wife working from home.

But there was a big difference – instead of the traditional ‘all-things-to-all-men’ approach, this business began as a niche broker, only later expanding into other general insurance areas

I

n 1964 David Beere and Kathy Beere founded the Morton Michel business to provide insurance cover for children’s playgroups. Such groups were new at that time, and the revolutionary idea was to create a nationwide scheme to provide insurance cover. And the rest is history, as they say.

The title – Morton Michel - came from a combination of one of David’s family names and Kathy’s maiden name.

And the longevity of this Croydon-based firm is relected in the consistency of its management and in its employees. David and Kathy remained in the business until their respective retirements in 2008 and 2004. David’s mother Florence Beere worked in the business from 1970 until her retirement in 1979 aged 73.

And three Beere offspring Nick, Jeremy and Samantha came into the business in 1977, 1993, and 1991 respectively. They now run the business.

Nick Beere controls

motor, household, the indoor play policy, and general commercial accounts.

Jeremy Beere oversees IT, operations and accounts.

Samantha Beer looks after marketing, sales, and HR.

Not forgetting the staff As Samantha explains, “We get great pleasure in watching our staff develop and grow with us and achieve major promotions within the firm. We’ve seen people develop their skills from postroom to CII exam qualification, from account handling to actually managing an account. One member of staff spent two years willingly providing admin support to cover maternity leave and sickness in virtually every department and proved to be so knowledgeable and efficient that we created a role as operations manager for her.

“We are not a huge company but we are now big enough that there are more ways in which we can help our staff develop.”

4 insurancepeople JULY/AUGUST 2014

A

nd the consistency does not end there.

Believe it or not, the connection with underwriter Sterling Insurance runs right back to 1964, with a special relationship very much involved. Samantha says Morton Michel has worked hard to become the market leader for childcare insurance in the UK, “But we couldn’t have succeeded without a close relationship with a reliable, supportive insurer such as Sterling.”

Such longevity proves that there can sometimes be no sleepless nights worrying about having all the eggs in one basket!

“Sterling has helped us to sponsor various childcare industry awards over the years, often attending the events with us to show their support both to us and to the sector,” adds Samantha.

“Sterling is a business of integrity, whose fair approach to clients, commitment to high standards, swiftness in dealing with queries, and understanding approach to claims mirrors our own. We share the same values, and that has helped our long partnership flourish and continue. The fact that we still have this close and unique business partnership after 50 years shows just how well we work together.”

So what does the future hold for MM? Samantha Beere: “We hope to always move with the times, to offer the right cover, with good customer service, and easyto-understand policies.”

Jeremy, Samantha and Nick Beere celebrate ‘50 years’ with the Morton Michel staff

Jelf hits its quartercentury!

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Telematics: Motor, OK; but Pets?

Jelf celebrates 25 years

I

n my mind at least, the thing that sorts the Jelf organisation out from other insurance brokers of their size is their willingness to bring employee benefits and healthcare into the general insurance fold.

While others have steadfastly stood behind the traditional ring-fence between life and non-life business, Jelf has adapted its general business model to include these offerings.

Twenty-five years is a long time, but Jelf can

boast a host of long standing clients and business partners; as well as a consistent staff, some of whom between them have contributed almost 400 years of service to Jelf.

Founded in 1989 by deputy chairman Chris Jelf, the business has grown over those 25 years and now claims the third largest UK independent broker slot. The HQ is in Chipping Sodbury, Bristol, with 33 offices across the UK, over 1,100 people employed, and a turnover of more than £80m.

Alex Alway (left) and Chris Jelf

"Jelf has worked hard to set standards that our competition find hard to outdo,” says Chris. Group chief executive Alex Alway cites among recent activity the acquisition of community broker Riverside Insurance

Brokers in Kent, a new office in Glasgow, and a move into new premises in Exeter this summer. “Jelf is set to continue its growth strategy as it heads towards the next financial year,” he says.

Pet telematics to sweeten the insurance pill?

W

ho could have predicted that insurers would one day be monitoring their motor policyholders’ every vehicular move, thanks to telematics technology? That set me to wondering about other potential applications. The May article in IP by Markerstudy’s pet underwriting manager Stefan Thomas about the problem of pet obesity prompted a trip into John Gibson fantasy with the idea of monitoring pet obesity with a ‘telematics’ pill to be swallowed by pets.

An opportunity to discuss the feasibility of this science fiction possibility came up more recently during a conversation with Markerstudy’s head of pet cover John Gibson. Here’s what John had to say:It’s an interesting idea, but I can't envisage how a pill could be used to monitor pet obesity. A GPS tracking device, attached to a dog collar for example, might work better in determining whether a pet is getting the appropriate level of exercise. The results could then help to gauge the likelihood of future obesity.

“

Unlike motor insurance, pet insurance isn’t a compulsory purchase and you could argue that there isn’t quite the same demand to make pet insurance policies cheaper.

In the May issue of IP, my colleague Stefan Thomas quite rightly points out that an obese pet is more likely to develop health issues and require medical treatment. But where telematics is a cost-effective way to reduce motor premiums, the outlay to introduce any new measures to assess risks for pet insurance would need to be carefully considered against the benefits.

Having a pet’s weight checked by a vet at policy inception is another idea, but it’s likely to ‘turn off’ customers. There are other challenges too – many owners buy insurance while their pets are still young and before they reach their full size, so to enable accurate risk pricing, the pet would need to be weighed each year at renewal.

Let’s not forget that owners have a duty of care to look after their pets properly (as detailed in the Animal Welfare Act), but I feel it’s likely insurers will have a bigger part to play in the future, by encouraging suitable diets and enough exercise for pets, whether we see it in some form of telematics solution or not.

John Gibson, Head of Pet, Markerstudy Group

”

Oh well, another flight of imagination down the chute!

Nevertheless, thanks John for getting on the case.

JULY/AUGUST 2014 insurancepeople 5

market talk

RPC find no ‘smoking gun’ on conflicts of interest Be Wiser Academy boasts 92% CII pass rates

FCA considers brokers’ conflicts of interest T he FCA’s recent thematic review – Commercial insurance intermediaries – Conflicts of interest and intermediary remuneration (TR 14/9) – looked into commercial insurance brokers’ potential conflicts of interest in their dual role as agents both for insurer and client.

Charley Taggart, partner at City law firm RPC says the FCA has had conflicts of interest on its radar for some time, and this review signals its disapproval of some ‘old school’ industry practices, like purporting to act as a client’s agent when only taking the risk to one insurer.

“

The FCA is very clear that disclosing a conflict of interest to a customer is not enough – brokers will also have to show that they are actively managing conflicts. For example, the FCA wants brokers to have different staff managing the relationships with the insurer where there is a coverholder arrangement to the staff managing the customer, so there is an effective Chinese Wall in place. Brokers that can’t do that must regularly audit their decision making process in recommending a product, so there is a paper trail in place to demonstrate that they are effectively managing conflicts.

As part of the review, the FCA asked for detailed

information on broker remuneration with the expectation that some brokers might be steering business towards the insurers that gave them the best remuneration.

However, it hasn’t found the smoking gun that some thought it was looking for, which will come as a welcome relief Charley Taggart to the industry players who have worked hard to ensure that effective controls in remuneration and placement exist.

The FCA has flagged up the add-on and premium finance markets as areas of particular concern, so brokers would be wise to review their conflicts management practices in these areas as a priority.

Based on this review, the FCA’s expectations of how brokers manage and disclose conflicts of interest go far beyond the black-and-white text of the rulebook. It’s over ten years since the relevant rules were last drafted and they need to be updated to take into account modern business practices for insurance brokers.

Be Wiser academy opens for business T he broking fraternity has certainly been upping its game when it comes to staff training and development.

The days of on-the-job learning by ‘sitting next to Nellie’ are long gone.

And Be Wiser Insurance

Crescens George

is now making its own training expertise available to the whole insurance sector following the launch of its Wiser Academy. Crescens George is the senior assistant director responsible for learning and organisational development at Be Wiser. “Our Hampshirebased training facility offers a range of tailor-made courses for all levels of insurance personnel. There’s a team of 18 in-house staff delivering industry registered certificates,” say Crescens.

“And having worked with the CII we can now offer bespoke training on a national basis to benefit the

6 insurancepeople JULY/AUGUST 2014

whole industry with the most highly trained workforces possible.”

The courses offered include a fast track intensive 12-day CII Certification course for individuals who have worked in an insurance company or brokerage for a minimum of six months.

There’s also training support in addition to classroom training.

Crescens points out that there’s an ideal yardstick with which to measure the success of training towards exam qualifications – the pass rate! “The Wiser

”

Academy pass rate is currently over 92%. All CII course materials are provided, and ongoing support is included. If there is an exam failure, the Academy will extend its support towards an examination resit.”

Crescens concludes that the fast-track Cert CII is an ideal solution, not only for insurance professionals looking to progress towards their chartered status, but for firms who are looking to increase sales conversion by employing confident and knowledgeable qualified staff.

See www.wiseracademy.co.uk

in association with:

BIBA attract 5,629 delegates

BIBA enjoy Manchester success T he days of filing a fairly comprehensive postBIBA conference report have been lost forever in a fervour of exhibition stand frenzy (and not inconsiderable expense). There’s so much going on, and no one can be in two places at once.

An excuse therefore for a personal observation, and a particular ‘thank you’ for the highly welcome Cobra with Cobra thanks to the hospitality of group marketing manager Ian Carter on the Cobra Network stand late on the Thursday afternoon as things were winding down,

and the foot slogging was taking its toll.

That led me to wondering whatever happened to the DAS pub? Where was the opportunity to sit on a bar stool with a bottle of beer, and cooling the feet (and voice box) after two days of strenuous networking?

A quick follow-up with head of marketing at DAS UK Bob Screen confirmed the DAS ‘pub’ pulled its last pint two years ago, to follow the ‘lounge’ trend. I missed that closure last year at ExCel (a venue I prefer not to patronise – thank goodness we’re back at Manchester for

the next two years, at least.

Actually, it’s not so much ExCel itself, but the ghost town locale, and the appalling travel conditions to get in or out.)

Bob Screen confesses that the transformation of the traditional DAS ‘pub’ exhibition stand was his idea.

“Tradition is fine, but the ‘firstclass’ lounge was a huge success in 2013, and - not wanting to rest on our laurels - we developed ‘knowledge’ for 2014 highlighting the importance of our vast experience and skills in LEI. Clearly, visitors like what we’ve done as we generated

BIBA 2014 attracts 5,629

Bob Screen

more leads at BIBA 2014 than we ever have before.

“But, of course Andrew, you’ll still find a beer waiting for you at the DAS stand,” adds Bob.

“

Quote of the 2014 BIBA conference from one of the industry’s elder statesmen: “The trouble is, when you get kicked upstairs as chairman you no longer have much influence over what goes on!”

”

BIBA 2015 heads to Manchester again That date for the 2015 diary!

When? Wednesday 13 and Thursday 14 May 2015.

Where? Manchester Central In his closing address at the last BIBA conference and exhibition, chief executive Steve White confirmed the time and the place of the next annual gathering in Manchester.

JULY/AUGUST 2014 insurancepeople 7

market talk Mark Kingston joins Cardinus “Being a mentee is for life!”

Cardinus take on the Shard

C

EO Andy Hawkes tells me that Cardinus Risk Management are now appointed by the owners of London’s iconic Shard skyscraper to manage its safety systems.

Mark Kingston joins the Cardinus safety consultancy team and will initially spend most of his time at the London landmark. He has worked in the health and safety industry since 2008 and holds the relevant qualifications. He previously advised ITV and Warner Brothers on H&S matters, and was particularly responsible for the safety of actress Sandra Bullock during the filming of Gravity, last year’s multiple Oscar-

Mark Kingston

winning blockbuster. His production safety experience saw him working on drama, entertainment and factual programmes in the studio and on location, and he provided H&S safety training and coaching to production and nonproduction staff.

The ABI tells a porky

T

he Association of British Insurers’ porky pie at the end of May 2014 was nevertheless valid and well-timed. All done in the best interests of continuing to hammer home to the consumer the effects of fraudulent insurance claims on everyday policyholders.

"Fraud figures are up 18% on 2012, to a record £1.3bn in 2013. Insurers detected a total of 118,500 bogus or exaggerated insurance claims, equivalent to 2,279 a week,” says the ABI. Lay readers, national newspapers, and TV news desks naturally jumped to

the conclusion that insurance fraud was on the increase, despite all the industry’s recent efforts to reduce it. It’s a good bet that these efforts are actually working to discourage fraud, and that the overall levels are falling.

A fact the ABI clearly understand, and have covered themselves in their statement. These numbers are of course detected fraud. They represent insurers’ current success in uncovering more fraudulent insurance claims than was ever possible before. Keep up the good work!

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Meet the mentee T he topic of mentoring has come to the fore of late. In fact, there’s an interview with ‘Mentor Man’ Reg Brown on page 10 this month. So we can hear from the mentor – but what about the mentee? What’s the view of the recipient at the receiving end of this process?

Step forward Kaan Yardimci, currently an executive for international market development in Lloyd's. He recently slipped across during his lunch break for a chat in the sunshine in the lee of the Gherkin just across the road from Lime Street.

The first point he makes about being a successful mentee is that you have got to deliver!

“The mentor and mentee have to throw everything into the arrangement. It’s not a one-off thing, it requires a long term commitment by both parties. It’s now easy for me to see how my relationship with Reg has helped me develop as an individual. It’s scary to

Kaan Yardimci

think that a spare moment of ignorance in my teens may have stopped me from pursuing the opportunity presented to me and ultimately, not be where I am today.”

While still at school in 2007, Kaan took a twoweek work experience opportunity with Catlin Group (arranged for him by mentor Reg Brown).

“This was my first exposure to the London insurance market, and gave me my first understanding of the basics of the Lloyd's market,” says Kaan. “It opened my eyes to the wide diversity of career opportunities in the insurance world that I never even knew existed.”

He left school in 2010, and graduated from the University of Reading in politics and economics in 2013. During his university summer holidays, he undertook four separate internships, before joining Lloyd's in the summer of 2013.

Meeting Kaan over a coffee, and considering his record, he is undoubtedly hard working and ambitious. The question is, will an insurance career be able to stimulate those ambitions? I deliberately didn’t foist that question onto Kaan at our meeting.

After all, it’s not just the mentee that has to deliver.

The insurance industry itself has to do the same!

Let’s watch this space.

in association with:

LV= steps in to help travellers

David Holman

I

never knew David Holman personally, but I received several calls at the end of May from people that did, wishing to express their condolences on the occasion of his death aged 85. A much respected figure, fair, but could be tough on occasion, but remembered as an inspirational and much adored leader for those who worked with him over a number of years.

Born into the John Holman & Sons business, he ran it through the period

David Holman

when it became one of the last remaining family businesses within the Lloyd's market. He also established many managing

agencies, and ran Lloyd's syndicates in the marine, non-marine, aviation, motor, and common law classes of business, together with a Members' agency.

David Holman is credited with pioneering the direct motor system in the 1970s at Lloyd's – the creation of the so called ‘guaranteeing broker’. This allowed non-Lloyd's brokers to effectively deal directly with Lloyd's syndicates on motor business, which helped open up a vast market which Lloyd's would

never have been able to access without the existence of the guaranteeing broker. At one time there were over 40 Lloyd's motor syndicates operating in this way.

David Holman never really retired and continued as an active Lloyd’s name and as chairman of the Holman Group, working with his son Andrew over the last 15 years. He had a range of charitable interests, and enjoyed field sports of every kind, and the rural outdoors.

LV= offer help in the passport queue

L

V= stepped in with a well-timed customerfriendly message during the June revelations of delays in the Passport Office. Selwyn Fernandes, managing director of LV= travel insurance says, “This was

an unprecedented situation where thousands of Brits were not able to travel due to these delays, even if they made their application in good time.

We don’t believe this is fair, so existing LV= customers who had to

cancel their holidays as a result will be covered. To make a claim, our customers will only need to provide information confirming they had been waiting for over 12 weeks for their passport to be processed.”

Selwyn Fernandes

Where’s my passport?

G iven the life-span of a passport, it’s no surprise that a renewal can get overlooked. Why else would some members of the public in the passport queue apply just a week before being due to leave? Or worse still, join the queue straight from the airport when turned away?

But surely the risk of the shock at being unexpectedly turned away at the departure desk must be enough to protect members of our fraternity? After all, risk - and its prediction - is embedded in our psyche.

Our imaginations are steeped in the anticipation of risk.

Alas, there are enough examples, not only to prove that assumption wrong, but to possibly fill a future On the Road item within these pages.

I suppose it can be summed up with the old adage

that “we’re so busy thinking about our clients’ risks, that we never get time to read our own policies!”

As for myself, my instincts started twitching about three years ago. The year 2014 was getting closer, and so as soon as the renewal window opened I was down the local Post Office, happy to pay the extra fee for a supervised application! The new passport arrived within two weeks.

Dear readers, I cannot report any feeling of smugness attached to this achievement - the driving force was solely the nightmare scenario of forgetting the renewal altogether.

The Editor JULY/AUGUST 2014 insurancepeople 9

interview

Reg Brown

Mentor man!

There’s plenty of talent east of Brick Lane!

‘Man-about-Lloyd's’ Reg Brown is the retired head of a London managing agency who not only steered the formation of the MGAA – the Managing General Agents’ Association – of which he is now Chairman, but is also President of the London Phoenix Orchestra, formerly known as the Insurance Orchestra.

But this interview with the Editor concentrates on his mentoring work, helping to encourage young talent towards an insurance career AN: How did you get involved in mentoring in the first place?

RB: My early mentoring took place under the 'Lloyd's in the Community' banner. More recently, my mentees come from the Brokerage Citylink connection, either as a result of Master Classes which I do for them from time to time, or from the 'Student Events' which the Worshipful Company of Insurers hold in conjunction with the Brokerage at the Insurance Hall, Aldermanbury. Our fifth such event takes place this month on 16 July and Fiona Woolf, Lord Mayor of London has asked if she can come.

AN: To many people, mentoring sounds a bit like sitting in the psychiatrist’s chair. How does it actually work?

RB: Mentoring (at least the mentoring that I do) might seem to some like sitting in a psychiatrist’s chair, but it is very different in 10 insurancepeople JULY/AUGUST 2014

practice and varies according to the mentor and mentee.

Take for example, a team of young people ‘Lloyd's in the Community’ asked me to look after.

These youngsters were looking at law careers, so I explained a bit about the various jobs available.

The difference between a solicitor, a barrister, a court usher, a judge etc. I took them to a mock trial in the Lord Chief Justice's Court in Fleet Street at which I was testifying against Walter Merricks, who was then the insurance Ombudsman. I also arranged a meeting with members of the British Insurance Law Association, of which I am a Past President. I organised work experience for two of them at Catlin. Later I helped my current mentee, Kaan Yardimci to get a summer internship with the CII, IUA, and Lloyd's. That's how I met him.

I would say that it’s all about helping mentees to cope with the decisions they have to make. Do they go to university? Can they

afford to go to university? Do they get a job if they can? If so, what sort of job?

Kaan was determined to go to university. So he did. He graduated in politics and economics and slowly but surely he decided that insurance was where he wanted to be.

AN: Mentoring sounds somewhat elitist, whichever definition you choose. Surely it only scratches the surface for a chosen few?

RB: In the sense that the mentor opens doors for the mentee, it might depend upon who the mentor knows, and it might well be elitist. I opened a number of doors for Kaan, but he had to walk through them and I knew he would not let me down.

One of my other mentees joined me in a trip down to the Legal & General actuarial department in Kingswood. I'm trying to persuade her to think about the actuarial profession as a career.

hearing about “theI’mlackfedofuptalent! ” I'm not sure about the "chosen few" as it is available to those who want it. And, as for only scratching the surface, don’t forget the starfish story!

AN: The one-to-one situation must be highly expensive in time. Is all mentoring “voluntary” i.e. the mentors do it for free?

RB: It’s as expensive in time as the mentor/mentee wish it to be. I don't do things by half measures, and spend a fair bit of time at it.

But it is the most rewarding thing I do these days. It is all voluntary, we do it for free.

AN: Does the so called ‘glass wall’ still exist at the eastern boundary of the City Square Mile? You and

The Star Fish story A man is walking along a beach covered in thousands of stranded starfish, who have no future unless they can reach the sea. As he walked he constantly stopped to throw some back in the sea.

A baffled onlooker asks, “Why are you bothering? Your efforts will make little difference.”

“No”, says the man. “They will make a terrific difference - to the individuals I can help.” others are adamant that a wealth of talent exists within walking distance, and yet the City appears not to realise that.

RB: The Glass Wall definitely still exists. I'm fed up hearing about the lack of talent. There’s a great deal of talent east of Brick Lane!

See page 8 for the mentee viewpoint

“The ones that got away”

Despite an elder brother opting for an insurance career – and ending up as a Lloyd's broker – it was only after he had amassed a fortune as a best-selling author that this month’s late arrival became a Name at Lloyd's

James Herbert P

opular author James Herbert was a Name at Lloyd’s until 1991, but while his elder brother left school and went on to become a Lloyd’s broker, James joined Hornsey College of Art. He then got an advertising agency job, where he progressed to art director by the time he was 28.

Deciding to write a novel, which he finished in nine months, he received five rejection slips before selling it to New English Library for an advance of £150 and a 5% royalty. This first one – The Rats – didn’t immediately take off, but eventually sold over a million copies, and Herbert went on to ultimately sell over 50 million copies. He received an OBE in 2010.

James Herbert was born in 1943 in east London, where his parents ran a fruit stall in Bethnal Green market. His mother consistently turned down her son’s offers of a comfortable retirement – at 75, she sat her GCSE in English and passed! He died aged 69 in March 2013.

JULY/AUGUST 2014 insurancepeople 11

Malcolm Forbes-Wilson

Who says insurance is boring?

The late Malcolm Forbes-Wilson penned his remarkable insurance autobiography just before he passed away after a long illness in April 2014.

After what he describes as a “less than distinguished time at school” and a few months in the army, his insurance career began on 1st September 1966 when he joined CT Bowring in their private clients department.

In this first instalment, Malcolm learns the hard way to never, never place files anywhere near the waste bin when the cleaners are around. And also helps create new protection for employees using company credit cards when their firm goes bust – but after the event, and many sleepless nights!

A

fter a couple of years at CT Bowring, my only claim to fame had been as the “man who had to rummage in the basement for missing files”. I’d placed a pile of important files that had just arrived on my desk on the top of the waste bin. Needless to say the office cleaners took them away that evening with all the other waste. It took me some hours to find them, I can tell you!

Shortly afterwards I volunteered to move to the new office in Hitchin, by which time homeowners insurance was handled

by Bowring Bradford.

It was there that I learned that consumer rights activists, such as Elizabeth Ackroyd (Dame Elizabeth Ackroyd (19101987) – Ed), had the capability to use the media 12 insurancepeople JULY/AUGUST 2014

namely the BBC radio Home Service - to publicise the fact that I had failed to act on her request to add a diamond ring to the schedule covered against ‘All Risks’ on her policy. Regrettably my boss heard the broadcast, and I was appropriately admonished and another valuable lesson was learned.

After twelve months in Hitchin I requested a transfer to the international department of CT Bowring and Muir Beddall where I first discovered the thrills of facultative reinsurance placing at Lloyd’s, and the overseas business travel involved. Initially it was an overnight stop in Paris, but I soon found a way to broaden my European horizons.

In the marine market, a group of individuals from among brokers and Lloyd’s syndicates met monthly to listen to lectures from guest speakers addressing topical issues. This group, called the Lloyd’s Under 30s Marine

Malcolm’s wife, Sue Forbes-Wilson kindly throws some more light on the Amex episode (see below)

“

When Malcolm was working for Armour Hick Parker, at 28 he was a relatively young man, supporting a wife and two children, which took all the salary he was earning at the time. The firm sent him off to Australia for a month, and gave him an Amex card for all his expenses.

Group, had recently persuaded their sponsoring firms to pay them to travel around Europe visiting Lloyd’s agents and clients.

A young underwriting friend and I decided the time was right for the non-mariners to start a similar enterprise, and the Lloyd’s Under 30s Non-Marine Group was born. It was an immediate success and as far as I am aware is still functioning today.

Our European adventures included visits to the European Parliament, the Rotterdam Insurance Bourse, Munich Re, Zurich Insurance in Zurich, and Sud Aviation in Toulouse, where the first Concordes were being assembled. That visit meant the inevitable stop-over in Paris. It was a memorable trip.

Shortly thereafter I was

On his return home, he was shocked to find that not only had the company gone into administration, but that he would be personally responsible for the Amex bill. It was a complete shock. Covering the card would have been an impossibility.

I can’t remember exactly who he approached for advice, but the outcome became a test case, after which things were changed so that employees were not deemed to be responsible for card expenses incurred on behalf of a company. Therefore, after more than a few sleepless nights, he was absolved of all necessity to settle the credit card bill.

Sue Forbes-Wilson

headhunted to leave Bowring and join Armour, Hick Parker whose origins could be traced back over 100 years. It only took a couple of years and a dodgy finance director for the Lloyd’s broker to be put into liquidation but, in the intervening years, I ‘discovered’ Australia and that one is personally responsible

”

for debts incurred on the American Express corporate card should the company fail!

Malcolm Forbes-Wilson (1946-2014) written in January 2014

To be continued

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JULY/AUGUST 2014 insurancepeople 13

Terry Wellard

Who regulates the regulator?

Terry Wellard signals that it’s not just the regulatory strangulation of entrepreneurial enterprise that’s weakening the insurance market – it’s the enormous costs of compliance too!

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egrettably I was unable to attend this year's BIBA Conference, so I was intrigued to hear more about delegates’ response to the theme of Customer, customer, customer.

FCA fees is living in 'Cloud Cuckoo Land'. History decrees this never happens with government appointed bodies, particularly when regulating the complexities of the finance sector.

Logically I assumed that the ‘Customer’ triple whammy embraced all three participants - insurer, broker, and client, as opposed to emphasising the insured's interests.

There is, of course, a further constituent part of the equation, namely the involvement of regulators, and no doubt this was aired with some alacrity.

Inevitably the initial set-up costs would have been extensive for the FSA and the new twin-peaks regulatory system. They’ve grown over the years, but surely there must come a time when the integral parts of the system (with an established code of ethics and procedures for monitoring) need less to administer.

However, I make no secret of the fact that I would dearly have loved to join the debate as the financial impact of regulation, combined with the time and effort, becomes more debilitating.

As every participating entity becomes compliant (or brainwashed into the requirements) there should be less to monitor.

Those who cannot, or will not comply, will disappear.

I also make no apology for reverting back to this subject, that still has a long way to go before finality.

Anyone who harbours the prospect of witnessing a reduction in their

Apart from the growing number of disenchanted who look to sell, there’s also consolidation making a dent in the numbers who have to be watched. Does anyone review the extent or content of regulator exertions? Do the costs justify the effort? Or, as I have said before, "who regulates the regulator?”.

The prospect of FCA fee reduction lies in Cloud Cuckoo Land

“

”

14 insurancepeople JULY/AUGUST 2014

Maybe it’s a case of a forensic attitude to business, insofar as we must all be guilty of something and the regulator’s job is to find it. I was

once told that "if you seek, you will find" and that applies to almost everyone.

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efore anyone jumps to the conclusion that I am antiregulator, let me assure you I am an advocate of a compliant society embracing regulations. But not at all costs.

As one of my peers recently stated, "Regulation needs to be embedded in our business, but we must work harder to control our costs through increased efficiency and embracing new technologies". Sound advice, but we cannot control that which is beyond our control, or even out of control!

My concern is that we will have to live with disproportionate regulatory costs, whether we like it or not. And the sooner brokers accept this inevitability, the better.

Solvency II Although most brokers are not directly concerned with the Solvency II implications, they now know that at long last we appear to have a definitive commencement date of the 1st January 2016. That’s two years on from the original date of January 2014, 2012 having already been dismissed as too early.

service standards “areFalling driven by the costs of compliance and regulation ” The UK could have been ready, but the final rules have yet to be released and, as usual, some of our European friends still cannot guarantee adoption. I only mention this as indirectly we are all - as customers being subjected to the phenomenal costs involved in this exercise, which aims at enhanced consumer protection and embraces involvement of the legal and accounting professions, let alone the banks.

Insurer service All of this leads me nicely on to brokers’ gripe with regard to the decline in insurers’ service levels.

My only surprise is that it has taken so long to manifest itself.

Falling service standards are not surprising, given the burden of the costs of compliance and regulation.

Behind the scenes, the culling of staff levels is top of insurers’ agendas as a way to tackle this.

And this, in my opinion, is the nub of the problem. Seemingly it’s always the older, higher wage earners that pay the penalty without any consideration of what they bring to the party in terms of experience.

Such employees are integral to any efficient business. They know the business inside out and can solve problems. These stalwarts make decisions without hesitation, and would shudder at the thought of not returning calls.

Most brokers would confide that the absence of these trusted individuals is now becoming increasingly frustrating. Nowadays virtually all transactions are computer driven and the processing of documents geared accordingly. That’s fine for straightforward transactions, but

The financial impact of “regulation is becoming more debilitating ”

brokers struggle for an efficient response for something out of the ordinary.

More often than not, this response failure is the result of a lack of understanding, or too few underwriters available with the ability to provide a speedy response… other than ‘No’ of course!

My plea for insurers to dispense with the culling of this invaluable depth of knowledge always assumes these problem solvers wish to remain in an industry that is bogged down with the daily grind of meetings every other day merely to achieve compliance, or the constant checking as to whether there has been any abuse of authority or breach of security regulations.

F

ive years ago, a doyen of the Lloyd's market, the late Antony Delderfield, had a premonition that this wastage of talent would happen.

He hit on the idea of forming the League of Gentlemen Insurance Consultants to retain hard-won experience in the market place.

Conveniently the title of LOGIC should say it all really, but in today's insurance world, this rarely applies.

With the likes of Hank Greenberg and Warren Buffett as elder statesmen bringing a premium of wisdom to our industry, there is compulsive evidence that we must retain the benefit of dynamic talent in our business.

Some, of course, cannot wait to get out as they can no longer tolerate the ‘slings and arrows’ of an overbearing regulator. I suspect that over time the ex gratia payment will disappear as this may impinge on some obscure code, and could provide yet another illustration of the increasing inflexibility of insurers to accommodate.

It has on occasions been muted that I should consider non-executive directorships, but I have declined.

Whilst I hope my integrity remains intact, I’m not sure I could stand attending meetings that principally involve compliance. Call me a coward if you wish, but I prefer to stick to using my experience to introduce people to people and take pleasure in watching these new relationships or new ventures prosper.

High standards of compliance are so much reliant on the technical experience of staff, and it would appear that after a substantial period of soft markets, insurers’ cost cutting to improve results entails the disposal of this talent, which naturally has an adverse effect on service.

I will continue to harbour the prospect of a new "League of Gentlemen". It was a nice idea that prevents talent and experience simply washing away over the course of time. Without this input to avoid pitfalls, the industry will simply carry on repeating the mistakes of the past.

After completing this article, I happened to see what I regard as a fitting endorsement of some of the thoughts I’ve voiced. A quote from a broker deploring the lack of knowledge now rampant within some insurer offices. And another attributed to Robert Hiscox.

“Regulation remains the biggest threat to the UK insurance industry” .

Need I say more!

Terry Wellard JULY/AUGUST 2014 insurancepeople 15

corporate culture

David Grant

Corporate culture needs “to look outward ”

Don’t forget the customer!

Brands’ necessity to treat customer satisfaction as an essential ingredient to be kneaded into the corporate culture is being recognised, but David Grant believes there’s still a long way to go, with many firms still looking inward

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he need to establish desired corporate culture and behaviours has been at the top of most corporate agendas over the last few years. Significant time and resource has been devoted to it. Yet often companies have neglected to combine this with the establishment of customer satisfaction. Corporate culture has often been inward looking.

The question is, is that lack of balance always right?

Aren’t these two factors – the corporate culture and customer satisfaction - inextricably connected? Whilst internal aims are very laudable, and I would not dispute the rationale, I’d like to make a big plea – “Don’t forget the customer!”.

Too often a company’s cultural change programme does not relate to its customers as a key objective.

Instead, the programme is implemented in isolation, and doesn’t link to the customer focus objective.

The key question Ask the question - which insurers and brokers can you think of who make their brand value absolutely clear?

Where everyone knows what their brand stands for, and what makes them different.

There’s a healthy number of candidates that trip off the tongue – but what about the rest? I would argue that many firms still have work to do in this area.

Risk management and behaviours Many of the problems of the recent past were down to the failure of boards to challenge dominant individuals. Or, to understand the risks their business faced. And there has been failure to detect rogue behaviour from key employees.

16 insurancepeople JULY/AUGUST 2014

To prevent such problems re-occurring, it was not surprising that risk management came to the fore, to enable boards to raise issues and challenge together with greater regulatory oversight and such “innovations” as Solvency II. Prevention of risk and the control of rogue behavior has created an inward focus supported by the introduction of many cultural change programmes.

Culture can be defined as: “The beliefs, behaviours, values, and forms shared by a particular group of people.”

But rather than see this as just about protecting the balance sheet by managing risk, if you really want to add value through a company’s culture, it needs to have an external customer focus.

It’s customers that add value Customers buy products, create profit, and value for shareholders and employees.

A swing back towards looking at how a company positions itself with its customers and what it stands for in their eyes is required so that cultural change programmes can become truly successful.

The best way is to make sure a company devotes time and resources to know what’s important to its customers and to summarise the desired positioning and communicate internally and externally.

This should be capable of being put down in a simple statement that everyone can understand. Proper research and analysis will help to get it right. It’s best to avoid over complications, lots of words, sentences or paragraphs.

Nobody understands or remembers them.

I bet everyone can understand and recognise what the positioning and objectives were behind such statements as “We won’t make a drama out of a crisis,” “Cut out the middle man” and for one previously broker focused insurer “The Brokers’ Champion”.

Companies should be looking to ensure they understand what’s important to customers and add external market positioning to a cultural change programme.

It then becomes truly powerful. It can help set the objectives and values that a company is trying to achieve in a way that can be understood internally as well as externally and creates a focus for service and product delivery.

David Beardsworth MANAGING DIRECTOR ABSOLUTE PARTNERSHIP

Spotlight on skilled investigation There was a time when positive action against fraudulent claimants was taboo for the majority of insurers. With a few minor exceptions, the main body of the industry looked askance at the idea of bringing the sheer scale of fraud into the open, or taking fraudsters to court. They shied away from the prospect of adverse publicity, and much preferred the option to turn a blind eye and simply absorb the hits via regular rate increases.

Those attitudes have now been turned around, and a more aggressive insurer stance is evident.

But that brings its own problems, as David Beardsworth explains

T

oday’s market pressures on general insurers forces them to recognise that fraud leakage should be stemmed, given the right tools and applications. It’s no longer feasible to absorb such costs by regular rises in premiums as happened in the past.

But it’s not just attitudes to fraud that have changed during the past decade:● consumer pressure dictates the need to handle claims quickly ● legal reforms like Jackson apply a similar pressure ● there’s regulatory pressure to treat customers fairly

The idea of an awkward claim being allowed to lurk at the bottom of the pile are long gone. Very quick decisions are needed from the point of first notification about reserving. What claims can be fast tracked, and which ones need devoted skilled attention?

And alongside all this – the desire of many providers to aim for zero-fraud tolerance without adverse effect on the majority of genuine claimants.

T

his is where the spotlight clearly falls on the use of investigations.

The large volume, smaller claims cry out for swift and smart decisions on which claims to focus on and, more importantly, genuine claims to settle.

Desk-based research and profiling is something we started using over 20 years ago and continues to grow in

demand. Generally fixed price, the techniques used are non-intrusive and provide quick answers. There’s much that can be achieved by ‘open source’ online research to help build a picture for the claims handler. In the casualty sector, key factors often include: ● are they who they say they are? ● were they where they said they were? ● is there any discrepancy between their account of events and apparent reality? ● other clues such as previous and current lifestyle and any adverse history This helps the quick decision process (generally within a couple of days) and is increasingly relevant with new claims portals – insurers need to decide quickly which claims require additional attention outside of the portal.

In the process, it assists initial reserving – early clues on severity of injury can make a big difference.

The work may also help in identifying larger and more complex claims requiring further investigation and provide the intelligence on how to plan the soundest approach.

The ‘Deep Web’ and social media Desk-based sources include databases e.g. medical practitioners, but also the use of ‘Deep Web’ techniques.

This involves the 98% or so of the internet that the popular search engines don’t catalogue.

Social media has become a vital source. Sadly for insurers, not all cases are as simple as the one who tweeted asking for advice on how to defraud his insurer, or sporting types who “can’t walk”, yet post online boasts about how well they played in their last match!

But the combination of hard-to-find online sources and social media provides a rich source of examples, for instance where links between claimants and third-parties can be uncovered by a skilful experienced operator, looking for the right things, making the right connections, and leaving no trace of their investigation.

A Word of Warning!

Those tempted to carry out their own deep searches do so at their own risk. There may not be any threat from individual opportunistic fraudsters, but criminal organisations and highly skilled cyber-criminals are always on the lookout for anyone taking an interest in them. They won’t come round and throw a brick through your window – but they could certainly disable your website or email!

JULY/AUGUST 2014 insurancepeople 17

News

insurancepeople

Launch of Minova Insurance T

he launch has been announced of Minova Insurance Holdings, together with the completion of the previously announced investment by Capital Z Partners, raising £50.7 million. Minova Insurance replaces BMS Associates as the name of the group holding company.

Minova Insurance is an investor in separately managed and regulated businesses in the global insurance sector. Its

portfolio currently consists of its underwriting businesses branded Pioneer Underwriters and its broking businesses branded BMS. Dane Douetil, group CEO of Minova Insurance, says, “As we launch Minova Insurance, we are delighted to welcome Capital Z as a shareholder and valuable partner to the group. We are proud of the people and achievements of our portfolio companies which

give us a strong presence in both the broking and underwriting arenas.

“With significant new capital, we have the flexibility and the resources to continue to expand, potentially through the acquisition of further teams and individuals, but also with the potential for corporate acquisitions. Minova Insurance has an extremely talented management team, well versed in building

Dane Douetil

businesses and I look forward to working with them as we continue to grow our investments.”

Barbican technology E&O facility

Fitch upgrades Lloyd's to AA-

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F

arbican Insurance Group has set up a new technology errors & omissions consortium, led

by Barbican Syndicate 1955.

The consortium underwrites technology errors & omissions business on a worldwide basis. The facility provides cover for a broad spread of companies including: software development; hardware manufacture; internet and application services providers; data hosting and data storage services; and telecom systems, as well as system and data integration providers.

In addition to Barbican Syndicate 1955, the other consortium members are: Novae Syndicate 2007; Kiln Syndicate 510 and ANV Syndicate 1861. The lead

underwriters on the facility are Stuart Quinlan, deputy active underwriter of Syndicate 1955, and Geoff White, underwriting manager and head of Barbican’s specialist eRisks division.

Commenting on the launch, Mr. Quinlan says, “By establishing this facility as a consortium composed of a number of syndicates all with experience in the technology sector, we are able to offer customers, and particularly larger technology firms, the line size necessary to attract such business into the Lloyd’s market. This line capacity is provided by a highly experienced team and supported by a dedicated claims service which includes specific technology expertise.”

18 insurancepeople JULY/AUGUST 2014

itch Ratings has upgraded Lloyd's of London's Insurer Financial Strength rating to 'AA-' from 'A+'. Fitch has also upgraded the Society of Lloyd's Long-term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to 'A+' from 'A' and Lloyd's Insurance Company (China) Ltd's IFS rating to 'AA-' from 'A+'. The rating outlook is “stable”.

The upgrade reflects Fitch's expectation that Lloyds' future cross-cycle underwriting performance will be more favourable than that achieved by the Lloyd's market historically, both in absolute terms and compared with peers.

The upgrade is also supported by Lloyd's strong financial profile, including a level of Fitch

risk-adjusted capitalisation that is in line with the new rating level, low financial leverage and a significant market position in both insurance and reinsurance classes.

Fitch views the market oversight by Lloyd's Performance Management Directorate and other market functions as having played a key role in a reduction in crosscycle earnings volatility, since the directorate was established in 2003.

Further, the agency considers that the substantial investment made by Lloyd's in preparing for Solvency II has further enhanced risk and exposure management practices across the market.

“Poor service” causes one in three to switch S

ome 15.5 million people – 33% of the adult population – claim that they have switched insurers over the past two years because they had received poor service from them.

The findings are from new research from EDM Group.

The company has also interviewed insurance intermediaries and senior executives on their views on the opportunities open to insurers for improving their levels of efficiency, and at the same time reducing costs. Nearly 15% of insurance executives believe that the opportunities here are ‘huge’, and a further 38% think they are ‘significant’. 68% think that more digitisation of information and data by insurers would help significantly here, and a further 18% believe it would have a small role to play. The corresponding figures from the research with intermediaries were 56% and 29%.

In terms of which areas offer the best opportunities for insurers to improve their efficiency, 53% of insurance executives cited back office administration. This was followed by claims (44%), customer retention (38%) and underwriting (35%). When the insurance intermediaries were asked this question, 68% said back office administration, followed by 42% who said customer retention and 22% underwriting.

Craig Campbell, head of insurance sector at EDM Group,

said: “It is clear from our research that both insurance executives and intermediaries believe there is significant room for improving levels of efficiency and cutting costs in the industry, and that the digitisation of information has a clear role to play here. For this reason, we see this as one of our biggest growth markets.”

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Coverr in an Instant JULY/AUGUST 2014 insurancepeople 19

News

insurancepeople

SSP tackles insurance application fraud S

SP is introducing a new “behavioural analytics solution”, in response to a rise in B2C solutions and “a multitude of trading platforms and devices” highlighting to the consumer the direct correlation between the data they enter and the premium they are quoted.

SSP monitors data input

and changes to key risk information, as well as incorporating a device “fingerprinting” solution that will aid the identification of devices being used to obtain cover.

The company says: “The industry is forced to tolerate application fraud as it is very difficult to track, trace and

Hiscox expands management liability team

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iscox has built a new London market management liability team and its four latest hires will be tasked with building its US and international D&O liability business, delivering “ … an integrated approach between underwriting and claims”.

Gary Lill and Suresh Ellawala join Hiscox as

line underwriters, the former with over 20 years experience in the London market and the latter a fully qualified solicitor.

Chris Moore joins the team as D&O technical claims manager / senior vice president, and Tony Kriesel, a dual US and UK qualified lawyer, joined the team at the end of May.

NIG in Northern Ireland PowerPlace initiative

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IG has strengthened its PowerPlace offering in Northern Ireland by widening its acceptance on its Tradesman product to quote for the majority of Northern Ireland postcodes, with plans to do the same for its Property Owners product at a later date.

This change is part of a re-write of NIG’s Tradesman product which also brings enhanced rates, additional trades and more comprehensive cover.

Jaime Swindle, director, Broker eTrade, NIG, says, “We are passionate about delivering quality service and support to the broker community and are delighted to be able to expand in to Northern Ireland. We relish the opportunity that this will bring and look forward to working closely with PowerPlace to bring greater value and more choice to the market.”

20 insurancepeople JULY/AUGUST 2014

root out. Some consumers continue to test out various scenarios from the comfort of their sofa to see how ‘accidentally’ leaving out certain details can reduce the cost of their insurance.

“That’s why SSP is introducing a behavioural analytics tool that will analyse consumers’ risk data

and flag up to intermediaries and insurers when applicants are suspected of changing their information suspiciously. While this tool will initially be made available through the SSP Pure Broking platform, it is also a key feature of SSP’s insurance company systems asset portfolio.”

Insurers re-visit flood areas

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SA and MORE TH>N,recently sent its Emergency Response Vehicle and National Events team back to Boston in Lincolnshire to support the community in a flood event organised by the local council.

Six months ago, the region was hit by severe floods and to mark the anniversary Boston Borough Council hosted an event in the Market Place. A number of organisations, including RSA and the Environment Agency, attended to provide advice to flood victims on how to make flood plans, sign up for flood alerts and apply for government grant funding.

Craig Monks, RSA national events coordinator, said: “Last year, this region was affected by the worst coastal surge to hit the country in more than 60 years. Hundreds of homes were impacted and we visited the community to help get them back on their feet. Six months on and the focus is now on ensuring that people are prepared for any future floods. Whether they are our customers are not, it’s important that homeowners understand how to protect their houses and we’ll be offering our support throughout the day.”

Sterling rewards adjuster partners S

terling Insurance Group hosted its second Annual Licensed Loss Adjuster Awards at The Kitchen Table of The Gilbert Scott Restaurant, St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, to toast the exceptional performance of individuals from its loss adjuster partners.

The winners of this year’s awards, as voted by Sterling Insurance claims staff, were announced as: ● Terry Diamond, QuestGates - Personal Lines Loss

Adjuster of the Year (second year running) ● Alistair Young, VRS Vericlaim - Commercial Lines

Loss Adjuster of the Year ● David Mello, Davies - Claim of the Year

Garry Simmons, head of property and liability claims at Sterling Insurance, says, "We introduced the individual adjuster awards last year as part of our adjuster panel review to ensure we maintained the very highest standards from our claims service and critically that individual adjusters representing Sterling followed our

Pictured: Left to right, Alistair Young, David Mello, Terry Diamond

service ethos. We actively monitor their performance and the annual awards are the recognition of that performance excellence.”

FCA launches Project Innovate

Ageas Retail moves to CDL

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nnovative firms, particularly smaller start-ups, will be offered the chance to work with the FCA whilst they develop new technologies and approaches to ensure they are compliant with regulations from the moment they go live, says FCA chief executive Martin Wheatley.

Project Innovate is designed to ensure that the regulatory environment supports innovation in the market and is not seen as a barrier, he says, adding that he also wants a situation where regulators are keeping pace with technological advancement and not playing catch up.

Martin Wheatley comments, “It’s an imperative for regulators to be standing on the right side of progress. And this is one of the reasons why the FCA has launched Project Innovate.

“A key objective of the programme is to make sure that positive developments, the ones that promise to improve the lives of consumers or clients, are supported by the regulatory environment. In other words, we want an FCA that creates room for the brightest and most innovative companies to enter the sector “So, priority areas here might include the likes of mobile banking, online investment or money transfer, where we’re seeing innovations such as apps that allow you to take a picture of a bill and make payments with a tap of the smartphone. The possibilities opening up are extraordinary – and it’s clearly important they can be developed in the UK.”

geas has signed a strategic partnership with CDL, which will see it migrate all its personal lines Retail brands to CDL’s Strata system over a phased transition period.

Ageas Retail customers will have access to Strata’s online self-service portal to store policy documents electronically and allow them to make mid-term adjustments and accept renewals online.

Ageas retail and distribution CEO, Mark Cliff, says, “Having worked with CDL for a number of years across Ageas, we are delighted to be extending our strategic partnership with them.

This move will support our

Retail brands’ ongoing online and aggregator strategies, utilising CDL’s aggregator integration and real-time pricing capability.”

CDL managing director, Gary Johnson, adds “Consumers now expect sophisticated online solutions, and we are delighted to be working with Ageas to give its Retail business greater capability to compete in the digital retail environment.

“Strata is a proven solution for high volume processing and working together we expect to see significant efficiency gains as a result of the move to a single platform solution for its multi-brand, multisite Retail business.”

JULY/AUGUST 2014 insurancepeople 21

insurancepeople

News

AA welcomes competition proposals T

he AA has welcomed the Competition & Markets Authority's proposals for changes in the private motor sector.

Simon Douglas, director of AA Insurance, says that, if the CMA’s proposals reduce premiums as they suggest, it will help to keep the high cost of owning and running a car in check.

But, noting that Alasdair Smith, chair of the private motor insurance investigation group, said that motorists are ‘paying higher premiums as a result of the problems we found’; Mr Douglas points out that other government reviews of car insurance over the past four years have already led to dramatic premium falls.

On the specific measures proposed, Mr Douglas says: On replacement vehicle and other charges: “I welcome a cap on charges such as a hire car to the insurer of an at-fault driver. Cost efficiencies will help to reduce overall costs, particularly for the at-fault insurer, which is good for motorists.”

On consumer rights: “The proposal to provide better information to drivers about their rights following an accident I believe the insurance industry is already embracing. Ensuring consumers have a clear understanding will help to establish a greater measure of trust between insurers and drivers during the stressful time following a collision.”

On ‘parity agreements’ between insurers and price comparison sites: “The measure to ensure that the price quoted through a price comparison site will be competitive with prices on other sites is welcome (known as ‘most favoured nation’ (MFN) clauses) and should support Andy Watson, CEO of Ageas UK, comments: "Ageas has consistently supported and called for measures that remove unnecessary cost from the motor market, including during the CMA inquiry. Whilst we will study the detail behind the proposals, we hope the cap on replacement vehicle costs achieves this objective and that as a result of this remedy, the CMA takes every opportunity to ensure that cost isn't simply inflated elsewhere in the market. Eradicating all unnecessary cost, coupled with better information for consumers to help them make informed purchasing decisions, is a good thing.

“We also support a ban on price parity agreements (or Most Favoured Nation clauses) in price comparison website contracts. We feel that price comparison websites offer an extremely useful and important service to customers, but the inability to reward their efforts or indeed those of other distributors of products such as brokers to create better risk pricing, is an anomaly."

22 insurancepeople JULY/AUGUST 2014

competition. However, I believe that the CMA should have gone further by banning agreements that prevent insurers from offering cheaper premiums on their own websites than those offered on comparison sites. This would have had a much greater impact on reducing premiums for many customers and is a missed opportunity.”

On protected no-claim bonus: “Many customers enjoy the benefit of a protected no-claim bonus and insurers generally offer prices both with and without protection if they have a good claims record. However, ensuring that clear information about how protection works, for example what happens if a claim is made with that protection in place, will help consumers in their decision making.”

On add-on products: “Linked to the above proposal for more clarity on protected no-claim bonus is the suggested review of add-on products already being conducted by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which is looking as how such add-ons are sold and priced. These can help to keep the basic cost of motor insurance down for all drivers and while offering useful additional benefits for those who want them.”

Martin Milliner, claims director at LV= car insurance, says, “We support the CMA’s proposals to reform the credit hire market as the excessive fees charged by credit hire companies have driven up the cost of claims in recent years. The current system whereby the insurer of the ‘atfault’ driver is liable for all hire costs but has no control over them, as they are decided by the insurer of the ‘nonfault’ driver, is not working.

“The proposal to introduce a fees cap is an excellent start and will go some way to ensure that the costs passed to the at-fault insurer more closely reflect the real costs incurred. However, the CMA could go further and introduce a referral fee ban in this market, which would help reduce the overall cost of credit hire.

“It is disappointing that the CMA has not addressed the problem of the subrogation of repairs in its report and is effectively validating the existing models by its absence.

This can only lead to more insurers deciding to replicate such approaches in order to avoid competitive disadvantage. That cannot be in the interest of either the reputation of the industry or the motoring public. LV= only passes on the invoice costs of repairs - we do not differentiate between fault and non-fault claims and do not operate a ‘dual pricing’ system.

“We would be fully in support of any proposals that would stop this practice and create a level playing field whereby all insurers are only billed and billing the actual costs incurred.”

Chris Hanks non-exec at Open GI

New household panel for Ageas

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pen GI and PowerPlace has announced the appointment of Chris Hanks to its main board as a non-executive director with immediate effect. He was previously general manager of Allianz Commercial.

Commenting on the appointment, Group CEO, Chris Guillaume said “Combining the technology asset of Open GI with the distribution vehicle of PowerPlace in February of last year was a strategic game-changer for our Group. As we further expand our footprint in the UK general insurance sector, Chris will bring valuable insurance experience to our board that will help drive unique distribution opportunities for our insurer partners through our innovative broker technologies.”

Chris Hanks joined

Chris Hanks

Allianz in 1999 and retired from the business in September of 2013. In 2010 he was elected as president of the Chartered Insurance Institute.

He comments, “I am delighted to be joining the team at Open GI and PowerPlace at such an exciting time. Open GI has long established itself as a technological leader and the potential for PowerPlace is huge. I look forward to contributing to the Group’s ongoing growth and continued success.”

Markel sponsors England cricketer

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arkel International has signed a sponsorship deal with batsman Sam Robson, who has just started his England career in the Sri Lankan Test at Lord’s.

He is Sydney born and raised but as an English passport holder and London-native was signed by Middlesex County Cricket Club where he joined in 2008.

The signing is the latest in a run of sponsorship deals in which Markel has picked up rising sports stars, including flat jockey William Buick, who now has 26 Group One victories to his name, Lucy Alexander, who last year became the first female jump jockey to win the Conditional Jockeys’ Championship and Sam Thomas, jump jockey and 2008 Grand National winner.

geas has completed its household claims supplier review and appointed 21 members to its new panel.

Rob Smale, claims director at Ageas, comments: “The household insurance market has become ever more challenging over the last few years as a result of the increased number of significant weather events and being increasingly under the political, media and regulatory spotlight.

“The objective of our review was to challenge industry practice, where customers have tolerated procurement led services focused on cost reduction,

and continue to differentiate our award-winning proposition by focusing on innovation and customer service.

“Customers often comment that they are driving the claim or communication between suppliers, effectively project managing their own claims.

Our challenge therefore is to make claims involving suppliers as seamless and efficient as possible for customers.

“We had a strong response from supplier partners and adopted a rigorous six month process to wade through the 110 submissions.”

Commercial Express adds Faraday

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ommercial Express has added Faraday Reinsurance Co. to the list of insurers on its panel. This follows the addition of a number of insurers at the beginning of the year that included Royal & Sun Alliance, AIG Europe, Aviva, and Covéa.

Faraday is providing the insurance on a number of Commercial Express niche schemes.

Managing director of Commercial Express Duncan Pritchard comments: “We are very excited to be strengthening our selection of insurers

Duncan Pritchard

further with the addition of Faraday. We pride ourselves on the quality of our products, our service and our insurers and Faraday is another high quality insurer that we are very proud to have on board.”

JULY/AUGUST 2014 insurancepeople 23

News

insurancepeople

Premium Credit responds to FCA review P

remium Credit is underlining the support it provides to brokers in response to the FCA’s Thematic Review of commercial insurance intermediaries. Andrew Doman, chief executive of Premium Credit, believes that insurance premium finance plays a vital role in underpinning the UK economy and, as such, gives brokers an important tool to help their customers. The company, therefore, remains

committed to supporting brokers to deliver a transparent and fair service.

“We firmly believe that insurance brokers are focused on giving their customers the most effective solutions for their business”, said Andrew Doman. “Being able to offer choice in terms of funding of insurance cover is an important component, particularly as access to credit for business continues to be a challenge generally. We, therefore,

remain committed to supporting brokers in how they promote premium finance to their customers so that they can allay any concerns identified by the FCA. “As part of our new regulatory responsibilities under the FCA we are, of course, required to take reasonable steps to monitor that our products are delivered compliantly by all our business partners and we are confident that this is being achieved.”

He concludes, “We fully support the proposals outlined in the FCA’s Thematic Review into commercial insurance intermediaries and the management of conflicts of interest. But we believe the benefits that premium finance brings to the insurance market as a whole are recognised.

Premium Credit will continue to support brokers in delivering this clearly and fairly to their customers.”

Ageas backs Ride to Work Day

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arking Ride to Work Day in June, eight members of staff from the Ageas offices in Gloucester, donned their leathers to ride into work on their motorbikes where they were greeted with a free breakfast and expanded parking facilities as a thank you for their support.

Ride to Work Day focuses on educating road users on the advantages of commuting to work on a motorcycle. Backing the campaign, organised by the Motorcycle Industry Association (MCIA), Ageas extended all motorcycle policies offering cover for 'Social Domestic and Pleasure' use only to cover the commute for the day.

Robin Broughton, motorcycle development underwriter at Ageas Insurance said: “It’s no coincidence that some of the most congested cities in the UK are also where there is a large penetration of motorbike owners – Sheffield, Bristol and Nottingham. Ride to Work Day is a brilliant incentive for policyholders to try their hand at commuting to work by bike.

This has proved to be another successful event, and it has been great to see so many employees and policyholders giving it a go. We hope the day encourages more bikers to appreciate the benefits of biking to work.”

Open GI London technology award

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pen GI London, nominated by Hiscox, has won Technology Solutions Provider of the Year at the Reactions London Market Awards 2014, recognising its full insurance placement and policy administration Trader platform.

Following the award win, Hiscox confirmed that they have signed an updated contract for product delivery through to the end of 2015 with Open GI London who are now engaged with all major business units at the specialist insurer.

24 insurancepeople JULY/AUGUST 2014

Commenting on Open GI London’s success, Chris Guillaume, Group CEO, says, “The Reactions London Market Awards is one of the most prestigious events in the calendar and to be voted Technology Solutions Provider of the Year is an outstanding

achievement. To be nominated by one of our key partners and recognised by the wider London Market is a real success story that highlights the hard work that the Open GI London team have delivered on this project.”

MBE for John Moore in Birthday Honours

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ohn Moore, chairman of Thomas Carroll, has been awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours, in recognition of his services to the financial services sector and charitable services to Ty Hafan Children's Hospice in Wales.

He joined Thomas Carroll as managing director in 1981 when the company employed eight people and has since steered it to become the largest independent insurance broking, health & safety and financial services group in Wales, employing over 130 people across four regional offices.

John Moore says, “My immediate thought is that this is an honour that reflects deservedly on all at the TC Group. We have achieved our business success together, sharing a common ethos that supports, develops and rewards our people, placing

John Moore

our clients at the heart of everything we do.

“In accepting this honour I will do so on behalf of our entire group, and the people, industry and clients whose dedication and support over the years makes me immensely proud.”

Supporters of Ty Hafan since its earliest development phase, Thomas Carroll successfully raised £80,000 for the hospice in the group’s 40th anniversary year of 2012.

Pioneer support from Qatar Re

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ioneer Underwriting has announced the support of Qatar Re on ISN 1980, operated in conjunction with Liberty Syndicate 4472, via a strategic quota share arrangement, commencing with the current 2014 year of account.

Qatar Re chief executive officer Gunther Saacke said: “As an ambitious specialist global reinsurer, it is well known that we are committed to supporting the Lloyd's of London insurance market and increasing our activity therein. Pioneer's high quality business plan is a welcome addition to our existing third party Lloyd’s portfolio.”

ISN 1980, managed by Liberty Syndicate Management Limited, commenced underwriting for the 2014 year of account, and is forecast to generate gross net premium income of £67m in its first year of operations.

Travel fraud arrests

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leven people have been arrested across the country by detectives looking into travel insurance claims suspected to be exaggerated or made up.

The nationwide operation is part of an ongoing investigation by the City of London Police’s Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department into claims ranging from just over £500 to more than £14,000 for clothing and electrical items reported lost or stolen, and medical expenses incurred, abroad.

One claim under scrutiny is £3,000 worth of clothing and mobile phones allegedly stolen from a taxi in Baghdad.

The ten men and one woman, the majority of whom are aged under 30, were arrested by IFED detectives on suspicion of fraud by false representation or conspiracy to defraud, with a further three people being interviewed after voluntarily attending a police station. One of the men was also arrested on suspicion of money laundering.

Hood swoop for Insure and Go travel team

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outhend-based Hood Group, affinity insurance provider, has appointed an experienced team of travel insurance professionals to manage its newly launched travel insurance operation.

Jack Ramsay is business development executive; Lauren Gooch group pricing manager; and Philip Timms customer contact manager. All three join from Insure and Go, after four years, eight years, and six years respectively.

Paul Firkins, business development director at Hood Group, says, “We are making a considerable investment in refining and developing our insurance solutions and services for the affinity market. This latest development represents just one of a number of new initiatives that we look forward to announcing over the coming months.”

Pictured: Lauren Gooch, Philip Timms, Jack Ramsay JULY/AUGUST 2014 insurancepeople 25

On the move Who’s going where?

Barnett Waddingham Barnett Waddingham appoints Scott Eason as head of insurance consulting. He joins from Societe Generale’s corporate and investment bank where he was managing director and head of insurance and pension advisory for the UK, Scandinavia and CEMEA countries.

Broker Network Broker Network appoints Ian Wainwright as head of broker development. Joining from E. Coleman & Co where he was divisional director, he was previously broker sales director at Ecclesiastical Insurance.

Angus Montgomery is appointed broker development manager Advantage. He joins from NFU Mutual.

Sterling

Jonathon Cox

Marketform Marketform appoints Nousheen Hassan as head of internal audit. She has been senior manager at Grant Thornton, head of internal audit at Brit Insurance and Pembroke Managing Agency, and senior auditor at AIG.

Nousheen Hassan

Sterling Insurance appoints Jonathon Cox as regional development manager for the London area. He joins from Ecclesiastical where he was business development manager for East Anglia.

Towers Watson Towers Watson appoints Keith Goodby as a senior investment consultant. He joins from Legal & General where he was portfolio director and director of investments and capital (savings) and previously worked at Tillinghast Towers Perrin as an actuarial consultant.

Gabrielle Folliard

Markel Markel International appoints Gabrielle Folliard as professional and financial risks claims manager. She joins from Beazeley Group where she was claims manager of specialty lines and previously worked at CMS Cameron McKenna LLP. Simon Philpin joins as underwriter and senior risk analyst of the trade credit division. He arrives from Equinox Global where he was a senior risk underwriter and previously worked at Atradius.

Simon Philpin

Markel UK appoints Liam Greene as professional and management risk underwriting manager. He joins from Hiscox where he was senior development underwriter.

Liam Greene

JLT

AA

JLT Towers Re appoints Steve Dimaria as senior vice president. With almost twenty years’ experience, he joins from Aon Benfield Canada where he was vice president and head of agriculture.

AA Insurance appoints Janet Connor as managing director. She joins from More Than where she was managing director and previously held the same role at RIAS.

Argo

Markerstudy

Argo International appoints Jon Hamilton as an underwriter in its marine cargo division. He joins from RSA where he was senior underwriter for marine cargo and specie and previously worked at Hardy.

Markerstudy appoints Anthony Foster as head of broker performance management. He joins from Aviva where he held a similar role and was previously strategic account manager.

26 insurancepeople JULY/AUGUST 2014

Anthony Foster

In association with

VEHICLE SERVICES Collection, storage and sales

Novae

AmTrust

Novae Group appoints Mervyn Albon as class underwriter UK & European property. With over 26 years’ experience, he was most recently underwriting manager at Torus Syndicate 1301 at Lloyd’s and was previously a property underwriter at Brit, Hiscox, and Chubb.

AmTrust at Lloyd’s appoints Mike Sibthorpe as director of underwriting and active underwriter of Syndicate 1206. He was most recently chief executive of W.R. Berkley Syndicate and before that CEO of Brit Global Markets and active underwriter of Syndicate 2987.

CDL CDL appoints Emma Riley as Strata product owner. She was previously CDL’s development product manager and has also been account manager and senior product manager.

Georgina Gold

CII The Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) appoints Georgina Gold as public relations executive. She joins from Redleaf Polhill PR.

QBE QBE appoints David Hall as managing director, retail. With over 30 years’ experience, he joins from Aviva where he was managing director of their corporate and specialty risk operations and was previously chief executive officer of Zurich’s global corporate UK operations.

Emma Riley

Advent Advent appoints Robin Waller to lead their energy division. He joins from Liberty International.

Allianz appoints Gary Davess as director, specialty and direct. He joins from Tesco Bank where he was commercial director and previously worked at RSA as commercial director, affinity business and personal lines underwriting director.

Broker Network

Hiscox Hiscox Re appoints Mike Krefta as chief underwriting officer. He was previously Hiscox’s director of non marine underwriting, a senior analyst and MI analyst, and worked as an intern at Merrill Lynch Investment Managers.

Broker Network appoints Paul Twitchett as head of business development. He joins from CCV Risk Solutions where he was managing director of Three Counties and Newbold Insurance Brokers and has previously held senior managerial roles at Willis and D Barnett Ltd.

Caravan Guard

Sarah Willmont

Canopius Canopius appoints Sarah Willmont as deputy divisional underwriter. She joins from Aon Benfield where she was a senior broker.

Allianz

Mike Krefta

Ageas Ageas appoints Lorna Wiltshire as PR specialist to its UK communications team. She joins from being a freelance PR consultant for the ABI and the FCA and has previously held roles at Friends Provident, Aviva, and Legal & General.

Gary Davess

Ryan Wilby

Caravan Guard appoints Ryan Wilby as managing director. He has worked in the family owned business for twelve years and takes over from his father Peter who is appointed chairman.

JULY/AUGUST 2014 insurancepeople 27

by Andrew Newman

in association with:

waiting for a holiday departure to foreign climes when IP takes its August break.

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T

he story as to how the individuals depicted in the photograph came to find themselves involved in wing-stress and metal fatigue tests for Concorde at the Sud Aviation factory in Toulouse in 1973 is revealed on page 12 in this month’s magazine.

This 1973 jaunt is none other than the Lloyd’s Under-30s Non-Marine Group getting themselves out ‘on the road’, away from their respective Lloyd's broking and syndicate desks and standing on a newly constructed Concorde wing. The late Malcolm Forbes-Wilson cited this expedition in his memoir (the first instalment of which you can find on page 12) and he is circled above.

The travel logistics dictated an inevitable stop-over in Paris. “It was a memorable trip,” quotes Malcolm.

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he group photo above of a gaggle (or whatever

the collective noun is for a bunch of under-30s insurance people) testing their collective weight on an aircraft wing somehow ties in with one of the unsolicited YouTube items that regularly pop up onscreen – namely the ‘wedding party falling into the lake’ genre.

The idea of posing a bride and groom, and their entourage in all their finery on a doubtful jetty or landing stage appears to be particularly hazardous given today’s obesity problems.

This kind of mis-adventure could never happen when the party includes insurance people or risk managers… or could it? Answers on a postcard please.

The sidelight of the wedding-guests-falling-inthe-lake genre is the contrast between the Royal Wedding-style pomp of some wedding ceremonies and the more free and easy enjoyment of those who see

28 insurancepeople JULY/AUGUST 2014

it as a fun occasion among friends. So while some regard such wetty ingress as a complete disaster ruining the whole occasion, others take the joke on board as just part of an enjoyable day.

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his month’s IP features another ‘shock’ example to rank alongside wedding guests falling in the lake, namely arriving at the airport only to be turned away thanks to an out-ofdate passport. (see page 9) It’s a matter of personal choice, but of the two alternatives I would rather opt for the valid passport and the damp wedding suit rather than vice versa. But that’s because, for me, being turned away at the airport has always been a worst nightmare. In fact, during the course of this writing I admit to asking myself the “Where’s my passport?” question posed on page 9, and am pleased to confirm the new document is in its place,

he recent passing of Lloyd's broker David Holman is featured on page 9 in this issue of IP. Several of the calls received about David related to his prowess as a pilot, and ‘on the road’ business trips enjoyed with himself at the controls.

I took these aerial expeditions up with David Holman’s son Andrew, who comments, “Yes, my father flew a lot, and often flew himself to business meetings around the British Isles. He had two 'scrapes', once when the electrics failed and he ended up landing in a turnip field in Holland, and the other when he clipped some trees at the end of a small strip in Scotland, in bad weather.”

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here are also tales of a more aggressive kind of flying, as for instance the insurance broker who flew his own plane towing a banner extolling the virtues of his own organisation, and who made a particular point of buzzing the offices of his broking opposition.

Understanding the things that are important to you and your customers can only be achieved by listening and getting closer to you - our brokers. This means that we can provide even more innovative and exible insurance solutions designed to help your business grow and increase proďŹ tability.

Our executive range of high net worth and commercial products are designed to the highest standards, backed up with excellent service; as evidenced by the many industry awards we have recently won.

Our immediate access to decision makers and our ongoing commitment to exceptional customer service, competitive pricing and fast, fair claims settlement makes Sterling a company that truly makes a difference in the marketplace.

To ďŹ nd out more about how Sterling can deliver great service to you, contact our Broker Operations Manager, Mark Arends via the details below.

T: 0845 271 1300 E: marends@sterlinginsurancegroup.com www.sterlinginsurancegroup.com Sterling Insurance Company Limited and Sterling Life Limited are incorporated and registered in England and Wales under numbers 498605 and 911235 respectively. They are authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. They are covered by the FInancial Services Compensation Scheme and the Financial Ombudsman Service.